Hey Nigel, I agree, people making these ridiculous claims should be booted out. I am amazed that the claims office has repeatedly failed to recognise the claims which are clearly outside the rules or "spirit of the rules".
That said, whilst I think that it would be sensible now to re-think the support (through expenses) for MP's who need a second home to perform their duties, I would not condemn politicians, wealthy or otherwise, for claiming the very basic expenses, such as on mortgage interest, under the current rules. There should have been very careful monitoring of "flipping" homes...and Capital Gains Tax should have been paid on a sale of a second home.
Also, I fail to see why the Inland Revenue haven't been taking a much closer look at MP's expenses and tax liabilities over recent years.